Rea Completes Successful Two Day Test At Portimao

Jonathan Rea and Kawasaki Racing Team completed a two day test at the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve in Portimao today, further improving the set up of the 2017 Ninja ZX-10RR race machine.

This private test was a valuable opportunity to get reacquainted with the undualting 4.592km circuit near the town of Portimao as it will return to the WorldSBK calendar this year, hosting round 10 of the championship in September.

It was also a chance for Rea and team-mate Tom Sykes to undertake further development work on the Ninja ZX-10RR ahead of the next round of the Championship in just over one weeks time.  The riders were also able to make use of the latest generation of qualifying rear tyre and Jonathan posted an impressive time of 1m 41.4s on the second day whilst testing this new ‘Q’ tyre.

Jonathan will now return home for a few days before heading to Assen in the Netherlands for round four of the 2017 World Superbike campaign, between the 28th and 30th April.

"It has been really nice to test here in Portimao, especially to continue on from our positive test in Aragon last week and work in a calm methodical way. The track was really dirty and because there was only a few bikes on track it was never perfect conditions on the ground. In saying that the weather has been amazing and we were able to make many laps analysing some new parts and also found a good step forward with our chassis set up to improve in some key areas. We were also able to draw some positive conclusions from doing two full race simulations where I was able to be very strong. I've also been able to do a lot of start practice and now I feel a bit more consistent in that area. After we ticked all the items off the list I practiced using a Q tyre and we were able to make a really fast lap. I'm really thankful to Kawasaki and all the staff for making this test happen, as it comes at a good time to try to keep the good momentum we have moving forward into Assen."